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Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures is the film production and distribution company that formerly owned the Star Trek franchise and which currently owns the ''Star Trek'' feature films. Paramount is owned by the media conglomerate Viacom, which is in turn controlled by National Amusements. Brad Grey, previously a television producer, is the current CEO. It is his intention to establish Paramount as a leading media company again, willing to take risks and lure creative talent back. As part of this venture, he lured Gail Berman (one of the original producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) into the corporate offices as President. History with Trek Paramount acquired the Star Trek franchise in when Desilu, the company producing Star Trek: The Original Series, was in purchased by Gulf+Western, which owned Paramount at the time. Paramount, which came under ownership of Viacom when that company took over Gulf+Western in , has produced and distributed all Star Trek films and television shows from (when they were working on the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II) through (the final season of Star Trek: Enterprise). Paramount Pictures formerly owned the television production company Paramount Television, through which it produced and owned the Trek television series. In , Viacom was split into two separate companies – CBS Corporation and a new Viacom (the current owner of Paramount). CBS was given ownership of Paramount Television, which was renamed CBS Paramount Television, and thus gained ownership of the Trek franchise and TV series, while Paramount Pictures retained ownership of the Trek films through license to CBS Paramount Television. Paramount is currently developing the feature film , directed and produced by J.J. Abrams. Historical overview Founded by in , Paramount is America's oldest motion picture studio. Its logo – the highly-recognizable, majestic Paramount mountain – has been part of the company from the beginning, thus making it the oldest surviving Hollywood film logo. Paramount was the company responsible for the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, the silent 1927 World War I picture Wings. Since then, Paramount has produced the Academy Award-winning films Going My Way (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather, Part II (1974), Ordinary People (1980), Terms of Endearment (1983), Forrest Gump (1994), Braveheart (1995), and Titanic (1997). Among the other acclaimed films they have produced are Double Indemnity (1940), Stalag 17 (1953), The War of the Worlds (1953, based on the book by H.G. Wells), The Ten Commandments (1956), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Chinatown (1974), Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978), Top Gun (1986), Fatal Attraction (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Zodiac (2007). Since Star Trek was owned by Paramount, many of Paramount's classic films have been featured or referenced on the various shows, including I'm No Angel (1933), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1942), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Shane (1953), To Catch a Thief (1955), and Rosemary's Baby (1968). As a result of Gulf+Western's purchasing of Desilu, Paramount not only came into ownership of Star Trek, they acquired other Desilu-produced television shows such as The Untouchables and (both referenced on Trek). In 1987, Paramount released an acclaimed feature film adaptation of The Untouchables, and in 1996, they released the first film of the highly successful Mission: Impossible film franchise starring . Other television series they produced include The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Taxi, Cheers, MacGyver, Wings, Frasier, 7th Heaven, and The 4400. They also continue to produce the news magazine Entertainment Tonight. In addition to Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, Paramount also holds the rights to such successful franchises as Beverly Hills Cop, Friday the 13th, Indiana Jones, and the films featuring 's Jack Ryan character (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, etc.). The late Brandon Tartikoff was chairman of Paramount Pictures in and , during Star Trek: The Next Generation's fifth and sixth seasons. In , Paramount Pictures relaunched itself, with a new CGI logo, nicknamed the "CGI Majestic Mountain." In , following CBS/Viacom split, Paramount purchased the production company . On 8 July 2007, Paramount set the record for fastest studio to earn $1 billion at the U.S. box office in a single year, reaching the mark after 189 days. This is the first time they have held this record since 1998. http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/fasteststudios.htm This achievement is due primarily to the success of the Paramount/DreamWorks release of Transformers, written by Star Trek (2008) scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Paramount Studios Soundstages * Paramount Stage 4 * Paramount Stage 5 * Paramount Stage 6 * Paramount Stage 8 * Paramount Stage 9 * Paramount Stage 11 * Paramount Stage 15 * Paramount Stage 16 * Paramount Stage 17 * Paramount Stage 18 * Paramount Stage 31 * Paramount Stage 32 See also * ''Star Trek'' corporate history External Links * Paramount Pictures - official corporate website ** StarTrek.com - official Star Trek website Category:Production companies de:Paramount Pictures fr:Paramount Pictures nl:Paramount Pictures pl:Paramount Pictures